Purpose: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common hematologic malignancy worldwide. Although substantial improvement has been achieved by the frontline rituximab-based chemoimmunotherapy, up to 40%-50% of patients will eventually have relapsed or refractory disease, whose prognosis is extremely dismal. Materials and Methods: We have carried out two prospective cohort studies that include over 1,500 DLBCL patients treated with rituximab plus CHOP (#NCT01202448 and #NCT02474550). In the current report, we describe the outcomes of refractory DLBCL patients. Patients were defined to have refractory DLBCL if they met one of the followings, not achieving at least partial response after 4 or more cycles of R-CHOP; not achieving at least partial response after 2 or more cycles of salvage therapy; progressive disease within 12 months after autologous stem cell transplantation. Results: Among 1,581 patients, a total of 260 patients met the criteria for the refractory disease after a median time to progression of 9.1 months. The objective response rate of salvage treatment was 26.4%, and the complete response rate was 9.6%. The median overall survival (OS) was 7.5 months (95% confidence interval, 6.4 to 8.6), and the 2-year survival rate was 22.1%±2.8%. The median OS for each refractory category was not significantly different (p=0.529). Conclusion In line with the previous studies, the outcomes of refractory DLBCL patients were extremely poor, which necessitates novel approaches for this population.

Purpose: We conducted a nationwide, multicenter, prospective registry study for newly diagnosed patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) to better define the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, survival outcomes, and the role of upfront autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in these patients. Materials and Methods: Patients with PTCL receiving chemotherapy with curative intent were registered and prospectively monitored. All patients were pathologically diagnosed with PTCL. Results: A total of 191 patients with PTCL were enrolled in this prospective registry study. PTCL, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) was the most common pathologic subtype (n=80, 41.9%), followed by angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) (n=60, 31.4%). With a median follow-up duration of 3.9 years, the 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 39.5% and 60.4%, respectively. The role of upfront ASCT was evaluated in patients who were considered transplant-eligible (n=59). ASCT was performed as an upfront consolidative treatment in 32 (54.2%) of these patients. There were no significant differences in PFS and OS between the ASCT and non-ASCT groups for all patients (n=59) and for patients with PTCL-NOS (n=26). However, in patients with AITL, the ASCT group was associated with significantly better PFS than the non-ASCT group, although there was no significant difference in OS. Conclusion The current study demonstrated that the survival outcomes with the current treatment options remain poor for patients with PTCL-NOS. Upfront ASCT may provide a survival benefit for patients with AITL, but not PTCL-NOS.

The accurate assessment of initial disease status and therapeutic responses is critical to the optimal management of patients with lymphoma. Currently, staging and treatment response evaluation for lymphoma has been standardized into the Lugano classification. Lugano classification incorporates positron emission tomography (PET) into the existing response criteria, and response assessment using FDG-PET/CT has been proven to predict the prognosis in various lymphoma subtypes effectively. We will briefly review the current staging and response evaluation system and explore the role of functional imaging in the field of lymphoma.

Purpose: Febrile neutropenia (FN) can cause suboptimal treatment and treatment-related mortality (TRM) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP). Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness of pegfilgrastim prophylaxis in DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP, and we compared them with the PROCESS cohort (n=485). Results: Since January 2015, 986 patients with DLBCL were enrolled. Pegfilgrastim was administered at least once in 930 patients (94.3%), covering 90.3% of all cycles. FN developed in 137 patients (13.9%) in this cohort (23.7% in the PROCESS cohort, p<0.001), and 4.2% of all cycles (10.2% in the PROCESS cohort, p<0.001). Dose delay was less common (≥3 days: 18.1% vs. 23.7%, p=0.015; ≥5 days: 12.0% vs. 18.3%, p=0.023) in this cohort than in the PROCESS cohort. The incidence of TRM (3.2% vs. 5.6%, p=0.047) and infection-related death (1.8% vs. 4.5%, p=0.004) was lower in this cohort than in the PROCESS cohort. The 4-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates of the two cohorts were not different (OS: 73.0% vs. 71.9%, p=0.545; PFS: 69.5% vs. 68.8%, p=0.616). However, in patients aged ≥75 years, the 4-year OS and PFS rates were higher in this cohort than in the PROCESS cohort (OS: 49.6% vs. 33.7%, p=0.032; PFS: 44.2% vs. 30.3% p=0.047). Conclusion Pegfilgrastim prophylaxis is effective in the prevention of FN and infection-related death in DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP, and it also improves OS in patients aged ≥75 years.

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of adult leukemia in Western countries but is rare in the East Asian countries. Due to its rarity and the lack of feasible novel agents and laboratory prognostic tools, there are limited data on the clinical outcomes of this disease in Asia. To clarify the current treatment status, we performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients with CLL in Korea. Methods: The medical records of 192 eligible patients between 2008 and 2019 were reviewed for clinical characteristics, treatment courses, and outcomes. The first-line treatment regimens of the patients included in this analysis were as follows: fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/rituximab (FCR) (N=117, 52.7%), obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil (GC) (N=30, 13.5%), and chlorambucil monotherapy (N=24, 10.8%). Results: The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 55.6 months, and the average 2-year PFS rate was 80.3%. PFS was not significantly different between the patients receiving FCR and those receiving GC; however, chlorambucil treatment was associated with significantly inferior PFS (P ＜0.001). The median overall survival was 136.3 months, and the average 5- and 10-year OS rates were 82.0% and 57.4%, respectively. Conclusion This is one of the largest studies involving Korean patients with CLL. Although the patients had been treated with less favored treatment regimens, the outcomes were not different from those reported in Western studies.

PURPOSE: The optimal cytotoxic regimens have not been established for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who develop disease progression on first-line epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a multi-center randomized phase II trial to compare the clinical outcomes between pemetrexed plus cisplatin combination therapy followed by maintenance pemetrexed (PC) and pemetrexed monotherapy (P) after failure of first-line EGFR-TKI. The primary objective was progression-free survival (PFS), and secondary objectives included overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and safety and toxicity profiles. RESULTS: A total of 96 patientswere randomized, and 91 patientswere treated at 14 centers in Korea. The ORR was 34.8% (16/46) for the PC arm and 17.8% (8/45) for the P arm (p=0.066). With 23.4 months of follow-up, the median PFS was 5.4 months in the PC arm and 6.4 months in the P arm (p=0.114). The median OS was 17.9 months and 15.7 months in PC and P arms, respectively (p=0.787). Adverse events ≥ grade 3 were reported in 12 patients (26.1%) in the PC arm and nine patients (20.0%) in the P arm (p=0.491). The overall time trends of HRQOL were not significantly different between the two arms. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of pemetrexed therapy in NSCLC patients with disease progression after firstline EGFR-TKI might not be improved by adding cisplatin.
Arm ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Cisplatin ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung ; Pemetrexed ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Quality of Life ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Tyrosine

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the tumor characteristics and long-term clinical outcomes of adjuvant treatments after surgery with a curative aim for patients with breast cancer who are 65 years and older. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with breast cancer who underwent curative surgery from 2000 to 2009 were analyzed (n=4,388). Tumor characteristics and survival outcome were compared by dividing the patients into two age groups (< 65 and ≥ 65 years old). The Kaplan-Meier method was used for comparison of survival rates by log-rank test, and a Cox regression model was used to examine the effect of variables. RESULTS: Among 4,388 patients with invasive breast cancer, 317 patients (7.2%) were 65 years or older and the median age of all patients was 47 years (range, 18 to 91 years). Tumor characteristics were similar between the two age groups, but the older patients were treated less often with adjuvant treatments. During a median follow-up period of 122 months, recurrence-free survival (RFS) was equivalent for patients 65 years and older compared to younger patients, but significantly worse in overall survival (OS) and breast cancer–specific survival (BCSS) (5-year OS, 94.3% vs. 90.5%; p < 0.001 and 5-year BCSS, 94.7% vs. 91.8%; p=0.031). In the multivariate model, age ≥ 65 years old was identified as an independent risk factor for OS and RFS. CONCLUSION: Elderly breast cancer appeared to have worse outcomes with very low prevalence in Korea, despite similar tumor characteristics. More active adjuvant therapies would have a role for aggressive subtypes for fit, elderly patients.
Aged* ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea* ; Methods ; Population Characteristics ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is one of the most common esophageal symptoms and lacks a clearly defined mechanism. The most common cause of NCCP is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). One of the accepted mechanisms of NCCP in a patient without GERD has been altered visceral sensitivity. Mast cells may play a role in visceral hypersensitivity in irritable bowel syndrome. In this case, a patient with NCCP and dysphagia who was unresponsive to proton pump inhibitor treatment had an increased esophageal mast cell infiltration and responded to 14 days of antihistamine and antileukotriene treatment. We suggest that there may be a relationship between esophageal symptoms such as NCCP and esophageal mast cell infiltration.
Adult ; Chest Pain/*etiology ; Esophageal Diseases/*complications/drug therapy ; Esophagus/cytology/pathology ; Female ; Histamine Antagonists/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leukotriene Antagonists/therapeutic use ; Mast Cells/metabolism ; Mastocytosis/*complications/drug therapy

We report on a case of limited form of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) with pituitary involvement which presented with central diabetes insipidus. This rare form of GPA has not been reported in Korea. The patient presented with fever, headache, productive cough, nasal symptoms, and polyuria. Laboratory data and imaging studies demonstrated inflammatory lesions in nasal sinus and lungs. Pituitary stalk thickening and enhancement were observed on brain magnetic resonance imaging. The histopathology of the lung lesions showed chronic active granulomatous inflammation. Polyuria, hyperosmolar hypernatremia, and decreased urine osmolality which responded to synthetic vasopressin analog were consistent with central diabetes insipidus. Based on the clinical findings and histopathological results, a diagnosis of GPA with pituitary involvement was established. Treatment with desmopressin as well as concurrent glucocorticoids and immunosuppressant resulted in clinical improvement.
Brain ; Cough ; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin ; Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic* ; Diagnosis ; Fever ; Glucocorticoids ; Headache ; Humans ; Hypernatremia ; Inflammation ; Korea ; Lung ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Osmolar Concentration ; Pituitary Gland ; Polyuria ; Vasopressins

Megalocytic interstitial nephritis is a rare form of kidney disease caused by chronic inflammation. We report a case of megalocytic interstitial nephritis occurring in a 45-yrold woman who presented with oliguric acute kidney injury and acute pyelonephritis accompanied by Escherichia coli bacteremia. Her renal function was not recovered despite adequate duration of susceptible antibiotic treatment, accompanied by negative conversion of bacteremia and bacteriuria. Kidney biopsy revealed an infiltration of numerous histiocytes without Michaelis-Gutmann bodies. The patient's renal function was markedly improved after short-term treatment with high-dose steroid.
Acute Disease ; Acute Kidney Injury/complications/*drug therapy/pathology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Azithromycin/therapeutic use ; Bacteremia/*drug therapy/microbiology/pathology ; Cefotaxime/therapeutic use ; Creatinine/blood ; Escherichia coli ; Escherichia coli Infections/*drug therapy/microbiology/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney/pathology ; Methylprednisolone/therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Nephritis, Interstitial/*drug therapy/immunology/pathology ; Pyelonephritis/complications/*drug therapy/pathology ; Renal Dialysis ; Shock, Septic/drug therapy/microbiology